Mugiwara High (One Piece WA 2017)

26. Tacenda

AN~ wow. It wasn't supposed to be this sad. Just I almost cried writing the middle part. Hold tight to those feels.
~~~

Tacenda~ (n.) things to be left unsaid matters to be passed over in silence

Perona pov

"Oh, Perona, long time no see." Sanji said with a akward and pained smile as he opened his front door. The last and only time I'd seen Sanji was Thanksgiving night, and it was to brief, to sudden, to fast.

             I shuffled in my black pumps as my eyes nervously flicked over my shoulder. "I~I wanna be friends." That's was the god honest truth. Zoro and his antics were something I could no longer tolerate. First, he distants himself from our family bc our dads are gay then he dumps his first boyfriend because he can't own up to his issuses.

              Deep down, it had always bothered me they way he stoped eating dinner with us when he went to public school. Zoro thought he was clever, sitting on the steps. But I noticed. We all noticed.

              Sometimes Dad he would sigh and stop eating. His eyes would get glossy as his fist clenched around his utensils, and he chewed on the inside of his lip. Calmly, father would rest his hand on Dad's wrist before shaking his head 'It's not worth it. We can't force him.'

              No one even knew. Zoro made sure his 'friends' never came over. Unless they were friends beforehand. Naively, I always thought that if they talked to him that it would be okay. We could be a family again. Zoro would sit across from me at our little table. Dad would laugh at how messy he was, and Father would put the fork in his right hand instead of left.

             For a while, Zoro did eat dinner with us, but good things never last I guess.

            "Yeah, I don't think~" Sanji mumbled, not making eye contact with me, the little sister of his ex. That was still better than the little sister of the guy who broke my nose, or the little sister of the guy that stole my girlfriend. An audible sigh escaped my lungs. He thought I was here to persuade him to get back together with Zoro, didn't he? "You know what. Yeah, sure. Kind of need some of those right now, believe it or not."

                 Surprised flooded my face, but it was over come by sadness and understanding as I looked back up to the blonde infront of me. He look lonely, eyes a dull, navy blue like a calm vast ocean, and he couldn't stop shrugging.

                   As if his mind was trying to say 'It's nothing. I don't care. I'm used to it.'

                 "Um, okay. I'm glad, really glad." Oddly, I shrugged too. Sanji wasn't a bad guy. Zoro wasn't a bad guy, not yet, but I'd do everything I could to save Sanji. Now that I was aware of all the mistake I'd made with my brother.

~~~

                 "So how did you even at here, or find out where I live?" He forced a dry chuckle, but continuted to decorate the cookies with me. There was no one here but us. Sanji said his foster dad worked a lot at their restaurant, and didn't let him help out during the school week.

                 "Oh my friend Bonney dropped me, and I stole the address out of my brother's phone." I sped up that last part, but was careful not to say his name. My purpose wasn't to put a bandaid over a bullet hole.